Fan



' F iled 001'. 25, 1957 .ElElll TTORHE r5.

Patented Jan. 3, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in fans and has particular reference to a hand-operated fan for causing a draft of air to be projected over the face or body of a person, and operates with a. circular motion in counter-distinction to the or dinary waving motion of, for instance, a palm leaf fan.

The principal object of the invention is to produce a fan requiring but little manual effort, a fan which will take up a minimum amount of space and one which may, therefore, be carried in the pocket.

A further object is to produce a device which is extremely simple to manufacture and, therefore, economical to produce and sell.

A still further object is to produce a device which is relatively strong for its size and, therefore, one which will not be easily deranged.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of my improved fan,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1 showing the blades of the fan in closed position,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail cross sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view on the line 55 of Fig. 4 and Fig. 6 illustrates the preferred form of ratchet mechanism.

In hot climates it is customary to cause a draft by operating a fan. Many forms of fans are used, such as palm leaf, stretched silk and folding fans. These fans all require a considerable movement of the wrist and arm of the user and are particularly annoying when used in a large gathering. Such fans also cannot be readily transported without considerable inconvenience. Applicant has, therefore, devised a fan which will operate merely by opening and closing the fingers, a fan which will not be objectionable when used in public and a fan which may be readily folded and placed in the pocket or pocketbook of the user.

In the accompanying drawing wherein for the pu pose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 5 designates a casing having a cover 6. Within the casing I mount a frame having end pieces I and 8, between which are parallel members 9 and II. The member I I has teeth I2 formed upon one of its edges. At I3 I have shown a slider, which has a cross piece I 4 provided with finger pieces I6 and I1. These finger pieces I 6 and I! extend through slots I8 in the casing 5. Mounted within the slider is a shaft I9 upon which friction discs 2| and 22 are mounted. Between these friction discs the ends of the fan blades 23 are held. Secured to the shaft I9 is a gear 24 which meshes with a gear 26 freely rotatable on the shaft 27. This gear 26 is intermittently connected to the shaft 21 through a ratchet mechanism such as shown in Fig. 6, wherein an internal ratchet gear 28 connected to the gear 26 is engaged by a dog 29 secured to the plate 3|, which is connected to the shaft 21. This shaft 2'! also carries a gear 32, which meshes with the teeth I 2 formed upon the parallel member I I. A spring 33 has one end connected with the slider I3 and has its opposite end connected to the end piece 8. It will be noted that one end of the casing and cover is curved as shown at A.

When the parts are assembled as shown in Fig. 1, and the blades 23 are moved to open position the user holds the device so that the thumb rests in the curved portion A and the tips of the first and second fingers engage the finger pieces I6 and II. By now moving the fingers toward the thumb the slider I3 will move in the direction of the arrows of Fig. 3 and the gear 32 will rotate through the meshing of its gears with the teeth I2. This motion will, in turn, be transmitted to the ratchet mechanism thus rotating the gear 26 and gear 24 and imparting motion to the shaft I9 and the blades 23 of the fan. As soon as pressure is released from the finger pieces, the spring 33 will draw the slider back to initial position; but owing to the ratchet arrangement, the blades of the fan will keep on rotating through their own inertia and by successive movements of the fingers, a steady breeze may be caused to blow.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes relative to the material, size, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:-

In a device of the character described, a casing, parallel members mounted in said casing, one of said parallel members having teeth formed thereon, a slider movable on said parallel members, a shaft mounted in said slider, friction members mounted on said shaft, fan blades movably held by said friction members, finger pieces formed on said slider and extending beyond the margin of said casing, spring means for normally holding said slider adjacent one end of said parallel members, and a ratchet actuated gear train interposed between the teeth on said parallel memher and a gear formed on said shaft.

AUGUST ASPLUND. 

